Welcome to Pet Talk. To answer your question, there are actually several different reasons why your dog could be developing this "nasty" habit.

  1. It's instinctive -- a mother dog keeps her pups clean by eating their waste. This keeps the den clean, prevents disease and removes an odor that could attract predators.
  2. Lack of a nutritious diet/vitamin deficiency. Sometimes it is not the quantity of the food, it is the quality. Switching to a higher quality food with more nutrition and less hard to digest filler could do the trick
  3. Stress. Any recent changes in your life?
  4. Boredom. Lack of mental and physical stimulation.
  5. It simply smells and tastes too good to resist -- it's "dessert"



Some of the thngs you could use in his food that could help:

  1. Distaste" (can be found in numerous pet catalogs/stores, or ask your veterinarian)
  2. "Accent" Yes - the kind you buy in a grocery store.
  3. garlic
  4. pineapple
  5. parsley
  6. pumpkin - the canned variety, but only a teaspoon mixed in with their food.


Good Luck